Chapter 136: The Contract
Aurora’s POV
I drove back to my apartment in a daze, the luxury car feeling like a cage. I stayed inside all day with the curtains drawn, watching the clock tick. Every minute felt like a heartbeat closer to the end of my life as I knew it.
When it was past six, I finally moved. I dressed in the simplest black dress I owned, my skin still buzzing from the ghost of Oliver’s touch. As I walked to the car, my phone buzzed.
Raymond: Meet me in my private room. Don’t use the main entrance.
I swallowed hard, my throat feeling like it was filled with dry sand. I drove to the club, the neon lights of the city blurring into streaks of red and blue. I parked in the back alley and slipped inside. The familiar scent of expensive gin and heavy perfume hit me, but it felt different tonight. It felt like the smell of a trap.
Clara was behind the bar, polishing a glass. She looked up, and her eyes widened. "Aurora? I thought you were done with this place."
"I’m just coming back to settle some things, Clara," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. I didn’t stop to chat. I walked straight to the back, toward the heavy, soundproof door of Raymond’s private suite.
I pushed the door open. The room was dim, lit only by a few amber lamps. Raymond was sitting on the leather couch, his frame casting a massive shadow against the wall. In front of him, on the low marble table, were two thick documents.
He didn’t look up. "Close the door."
I did as I was told and moved toward the couch, my legs feeling heavy, and started to sit down.
"I didn’t tell you to sit." His voice was a low growl.
I froze halfway down, my muscles locking. I wanted to spit at him. I wanted to scream that he had no right to talk to me like that. But then I saw my brother’s face in my mind. Stay calm, Aurora. Remember why you’re here. I stood back up, my hands clenched at my sides.
He sat there for a long minute, just breathing. He wore his usual dark mask and leather gloves, but something was off. The air around him felt heavy, vibrating with a dark energy. He looked angry—furious, even—which made no sense. He had won. He had finally gotten me to say yes. He should have been gloating, but he looked as if he wanted to burn the world down.
"Sit," he finally commanded.
I sat across from him, looking into the dark slits of his mask. "You’re in a bad mood," I noted, trying to sound brave.
"Don’t worry about my mood. Worry about what you are getting yourself into," he snapped. He leaned forward, the leather of his jacket creaking. "So. You want to be my submissive. Tell me why, Aurora. Give me one good reason why you want this."
Because I want to find where you sleep and slit your throat, I thought. But I forced a small, fake smile onto my face.
"Because I can’t stop thinking about the way you fuck me," I lied, though a part of it felt dangerously true. "I love the way you fuck me, Raymond. I want to experience more of that. I want to see how far you’ll go."
Raymond didn’t move. He didn’t laugh or lean in. He just stared at me, and for a second, I felt like he was looking right through my skin at the lie underneath. He picked up one of the files and slid the other toward me.
"Open it."
I opened the folder. The first line in bold letters made my stomach turn: SUBMISSIVE AND MASTER CONTRACT AGREEMENT.
"Read it out loud," he ordered. "I want to hear the words come out of your mouth so you can’t claim you didn’t understand them later."
I cleared my throat, my voice shaking slightly as I began to read the cold, legal-sounding terms.
"The Submissive, Aurora, agrees to give total control of her physical body to the Master, Raymond, for a period of three months. During this time, her will is secondary to his, and she exists under his authority. The Submissive will be available at all times, whenever the Master calls. The Submissive will not question the Master’s methods or punishments, no matter how harsh or demanding they may seem..."
As I read, his voice remained calm, steady, almost cold as he continued to lay out his rules.
"Rule one," he said. "You will not hide anything from me. If I ask a question, you answer—fully and honestly."
He paused, letting the weight of it settle before continuing.
"Rule two: You will only belong to me. You will only fuck me."
"No," I interrupted, dropping the paper. "I disagree with that one."
Raymond’s head tilted, his eyes narrowing. "You’re in no position to negotiate."
"I’m dating the Alpha King, Raymond. You know that," I said, my heart hammering. "I can’t just stop sleeping with him without him getting suspicious."
We stared at each other for a long time. The tension was so thick I could suffocate in it. Finally, he let out a sharp, frustrated breath and grabbed a pen. He struck a line through the sentence.
"Fine," he growled. "Just me and the Alpha King. If I find out there is a third, I’ll break your legs. Are we clear?"
"Clear," I whispered.
"Rule three," he continued, leaning back. "I can fuck you anywhere. Public places, private rooms, in the middle of a crowd if I feel like it. You will never say no. Rule four: You will accept any form of touch, any intensity, and any tool I choose to use. Rule five: You will receive a weekly payment for your... services."
He named a number that was so high it made my head spin. It was enough to keep James in the best private care for a year.
"Is that all?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
"No, darling... turn over."